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Hon. JOHN MERCER I.ANGSTOX, 

The Pccrles? Champion of Human Rijj^hts. The Nej^ro's Dcfcmler, 

Advocate, Leader. I.ale Minister Republic of Haiti, Lawyer, 

President of Howard University, Congressman. 

Born in Louisa County Va., December 14, 1829. 
Died at Washington, D. C, November 15, 1S97. 



Emancipation Day at Culpeper, Va. 

i]^bursdciL], SepbEmber 22, 1395. 

The 35th anniversary of the issuing of the Proclamation — The John M. 
Langston Monument movement endorsed — Observed under the auspices of the 
Lanijston Monument, Historical and .Emancipation Association of Virginia. 
Alexandria, \a., selected as the place for the celebration next year — Septem- 
ber 22, 1899. 

Largest gathering Afro-Americans ever held in northern Virginia. The 
city of Culpeper crowded with over 10,000 visitors. 

A GREAT DAY. 

Culpeper, Va., one of the historic places of Virginia was alive with people 
on the morning of September 22, 1898. The city commence fillmg up with 
viyitors, clubs, military organizations, as early as 8 o'clock on the morning of 
the 22d of September, and at 10 o'clock excursions began to arrive from 
Washington and the South, bringing tliousands of people, representatives of 
the race from tlie capital of the nation, Baltimore. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Massachusetts, and elsewhere. Virginia was rej^n sented by delegates from 
all the leading towns and (;ountits. At 12 o'clock it was estimated 15,000 peo- 
ple were wending their way to Cedar Hill Park to hear the emancipation 
orators and give their endors^ement to the John M. Langston Monument 
Association. At 12 o'clock the Emancipation Program commenced with a 
great street parade, headed by Mr. Henry Lightfoot of Culpeper as Grand 
Chief Marsh;ill, assisted by General B. Hughes, Chief of Statf, and over 100 
Assistant Marshalls. The parade was headed by the Warrenton Brass Band, 
handsomely uniformed. At Dayis street Vice-President of the Emancipation. 
W. A. Jackson of Culpeper entered the line amid applause. At Roberts 
Hotel Prof. J. W. Coles, Secretary of the Emancipation was received with an 
ovation and his carriage entered the line. 

The parade was reviewed at the Altament Hotel by the President of the 
day, Editor Magnus L. Robinson and his executive staff, after which the march 
was taken up for Cedar Hill Park. The Park is situated on one of the high 
hills of Culpeper with a magnificent view of the country for miles away. At 
3 o'clock the exercise at the Park began in the presence of over 15,000 people. 
The grand stand was decorated with "Old 'ilory," portraits of I^incoln, Lang- 
ston, and other noted emancipators. On the platform sat many leading men 
of the race, amoTig them — Prof. Jesse Lawson of New Jersey; J>awyer Richard 
R. Horner of Warrenton, Va.; Prof. J. W. Coles of Virginia; W. A. Jackson, 
Vice-President of the day; Chief Marshall Henry Lightfoot; Rev. Robert B, 
Robinson, President of the John Hay Normal and Industrial School of Alex- 



andria, Va.; Editor Matrnus L. Robinson of Virginia; Prof. Ilobt. Kelso of 
Charlottsviile, and in tlie vast assenibUi<i;e were many noted men. It was a 
truly representative gathering — churches, clubs, military societies, trades, 
farmers — all clas-ses of people were present. The ministry was fully repre- 
sented. The ollicials of Culpeper were out and gave their encouragement to 
the event. The Butler Zouaves of Washington, D. C, officered by Capt. 
Tascoe Thompson and Lieut. W. I. Ilerron and Lieutenant Peel, attracted 
marked attention by their soldieily bearing and line drills. 

The merchants and other basines.s men of Culpeper welcomed the celebra- 
tion and gave their moral and financial support in defraying incidential expen- 
ses. All honor and thanks to the Culpeper white liusiness men. 

The address of Lawyer Kichanl li. Horner, the emancipation orator, was 
eloquently delivered and loudly applauded. See address. 

Prof. Jesse Lawson, the personal friend of the late Mr. Laugston, was 
received with cheers and his speech was eloquent, grand, interesting and 
attentively listened to. 

His sp(.ech wa.s intensely interesting, as Prof. Lawson spoke of what he 
had seen and known of Mr. Langston from a personal experience, covering a 
period of thirty years. See adihess. 

Prof. ,]. W. Coles made a happy welcome addrfss, which was responded 
to by Mr. Wni. H. Brooker of Washington. Mr. Harry B. Fields read the 
Emancipation Edict, which was loudly applauded. 

Miss Harriett Burrell of Washington read an original Emancipation Poem. 

Editor Magnus L. Robinson presided and made the introductory remarks. 
See remarks. 

The State, county and metropolitan papers gave large space to the Cul- 
peper celebration, and stated that, the celebration was a great credit to the 
colored people, and the Association that had charge of it. It was a success, 
and the large gathering voted to make the 18'.H> celebralion, to take place at 
Alexandria, a greater succes.s. 

The orators of the day and officers of the As.sociation rode in carriages, 
and the Butler Zouaves acted as special escort. 



Introductory Remarks of President of the Day. 

Mags IS L. Robinson, President of the Langston National Monument, His- 
torical, and Emancipation Association of Virginia, and Editor of the 
Alexandria, \a Leader, who presided, spoke as follows: 
Fricnd.i and Fdlow Ciliztiis: 

Tinier the auspices of the Langston National Memorial, Historical and 
Emancipation Association of Virginia, we have assembled here toilay in this 
beautiful city of Culpeper, to celebrate and expatiate an occasion of great 
interi'st, perhaps more |>lea.sing in its reahzafi<in, than has ever been our 
pleasur.. f.. .•ln-....l.l.. ii, tl.i^ il... <t;ilf' ,,f NirL'inia. We are here today not as 



recipients of special favor, neither only as the descendants of a particular 
race. But we have assembled upon the broad platform of our 1 Republic as 
full pledged American citizens and as freemen of our native soil. 

We are here not only to commemoraie the memory of one of America's 
greatest sons — Abraham Lincoln — all honor to his memory — but also to give 
expression and exaltation to those noble and righteous principles which have 
ever steered the old ship of states thus far towards the harbor of safety, and 
to recall some of the loyal rcminiscense due our sable sons of toil, those noble 
martyrs who stood undaunted shoulder to shoulder, those who sacrificed their 
life's blood in the defense of their country and the maintainance of principle. 
Again, we are here today to inauirurate a movement that will make a land- 
mark in memory of a man whom Virginians feel proud of, not only because 
he was born a Virginian, but a man whose name is known throuLrhout the 
world for all that is good and honorable. I refer to John Mercer Langston, 
the immortal Langston. 

The Langston National Monument, Historical and Emancipation Asso- 
ciation of Virginia was duly incorporated at Washington, D. C. with head- 
qiirtars at VVashiasjtoii tha n;itio I'.s capit.il, and Alexandria, Va., for the 
pm-pose of erecting a suitable memorial in honor of the peerless John Mercer 
Langston, and to celebrate each recurring National Emancipation day in one 
of the counties of tlie Eighth \'irginia Congressional district. I feel proud 
tiy-day to call this vast assemblage, numbering as it does over ten thousand 
people, representing all snad<s of color, conditions and opinions. Your pres- 
ence today coming as you do from 'dl parts of the countiy s a sure indication 
of an hearty indorsement of the erection of a Langston Memorial and that oar 
labors will not be in vain. I will have the pleasure today to introduce to you 
a personal friend of my late friend and the people's tlefender, John M. 
Langston, — Prof. Jtsse Lawson of New Jersey who will address you on the 
life and character of our ideal leader. 1 will also have the honor of intruduc- 
iug Lawyer Richard K. Horner of Warrenton, a man of the people, one of our 
ablest colored lawyers in Virginia, who will deliver the Emancipation oration, 
a noble theme; Lincoln's Euiancipation Proclamation. A little over a century 
ago in old Independence Hall, Philadelphia, the greatest men of the nation 
there assembled to ratify and proclaim a proclamation to the world. Though 
over a century ago, so important was tlie occasion, so pleasing in the hearts 
of the American people, so sweet to their ^ensiln'lty, so exuberant to their 
higher sense of honor than occasion has been ever since regularly ob^trved 
from "Maine to Georgi:i," from the Gulf to the Pacific, has America celebrated 
ostensibly, regardless of consequences and expense. I refer to the Declaration 
of America's Independence, July 4, 177G. That ratification threw otf an un- 
pleasant acknowledgement and liis^olved their allegiance with the crown 
heads or completely annihilated the ilistastes of "King George Third, ' and 
today it is the great "Magna Charter" of Anlerica'^ Independence. This 
day 35 years ago the great Emancipation Prot;lamatiou was issued by our 
then chief magistrate, Abraham IJncoln, who truly in his heart may be con- 
sidered the modern "Moses"' of the Negro American. Lincoln's proclamation 
exceeds in its righteousness the former referred to. 



For in the former allegiance to sovereignty was only claimed, whilst in^ 
the latter case, all ;that is dear, sacred, estimable and desirable was most 
brutally deceived — one relieved the Circassian descendant from the objectional 
supremacy of the crown head. The other broke off the chains and chattels 
from over 4,000,000 human souls, subsequently (ihanged our status from the 
lowest type of chattel to full Hedged American citizens. And giving to crushed 
inate manhood that liberty which has so potently developed its powers and 
talent in the capitol of the nation, whose brain and eloquence have caused our 
Senate chamber to sit spellbound and the House of Representatives reverber- 
ate with unanswerable arguments. 

We revere the memory of Lincoln; of Charles Sumner; of Thad. Stevens; 
of Wendell Phillips; of the brave and gallant Col. Robert (iould Shaw; of 
Frederick Douglass; of Robert Purvis; of R. Peel Crooks; of B. K. Bruce; of 
John Mercer 1-angston the golden tongue orator, magniticent. bold, fearless, 
able leader of his people; and when ever this great and glorious day — (Einan- 
pation! ) arrives, we or our posterity will duly celebrate. 

Well may the descendants of the old Declaration boom their cannons and 
vociferously rattle their fife and drum regularly every 4th of July. Even so 
should the descendants of the sons of toil feel more thankful, am-i like David 
of old, after the return of the "Ark of the Covenant" cry out from the depth 
of our soul, "Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within me bless His 
holy name." Then as citizens let us realize our nnportance, and so let U8 
shoulder our responsibilities, and as a body politic contend reasonably for 
every right which is guaranteed by the Constitution to all legal citizens within 
this united republic. 

Let us get together in the Sth Virginia District. Build up the race. Pat- 
ronize our business and professional men. Place our boys anci girls in indus- 
trial schools. Give them a trade of some kind. J>ive honest, sober, upright 
lives. Teach and practice morality. Emancipate our^selves from the bad. 
Live in the sunlight of cleanliness. Live in peace with yonr neighbors. 
Respect yourselves. Protect the honor of your wjmen. Study the interest of 
the white people where you live as well as your own for the upbuilding of your 
several communities. Study and practice politics as the white man does, and 
when you vote, vote for your own interests as a white man does for his own. 
I now ask you to hear Prof. J. W. Coles, who will welcome you to Cul- 
peper. 

WELCOME ADDRESS. 

[HV I'ltoK. J. VV. CoI.ES UK dl.l'Kl'EK. \'A.J 

Mr. Pri's-ident and Fellow-cilizcns: 

We have assembled here today under the brigiit canopy of heaven to cel- 
ebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of the emancipation oftlie slave.softhe 
United States. If any people uiwler God's glorious .sun, have a right to hold 
a day sacred an<l to commemorate the immortal Abraham Lincoln, we are 
the people. Thirty-five yeare ago this very day Abraham Lincoln then pres- 



ident of the United States penned the proclamation that has just been read. 
And my fellow- citizens we would be derelict in our duty to God and human- 
ity if we did not celebrate it and teach our children and our children's chil- 
dren to honor it on its annual return. Yi^-ginia has always occupied the first 
place among our brilliant galaxy of States for her hospitality. Words are 
powerless with me to express the good feeling and the hearty welcome that is 
always emblazoned upon the face of a true Virginian. Virginia from time 
immemorial has never turned a stranger from her door. She takes special 
pride in welcoming those who seek her shores. The good county of Culpeper 
can boast of a citizenship as good, as pure, as brave, and as chivalrous as any 
county within the broad limits of this old commonwealth. This beautiful lit- 
tle town of Culpeper needs no eulogy. Upon her border she keeps suspended 
in golden letters the word "Welcome." She has the admiration and good 
will of the whole people, by keeping the latch string on the outside of her 
door. Thrice are j^ou welcome. May your stay here be a pleasant one. And 
when you shall have returned to your homes and your loved ones, may you 
ever remember that you were among friends and that nothing occurred to mar 
the beauty of the "day we celebrate." 



RESPONSE. 

[By W. H. Brookek, or Washington, D. C] 
Mr. Presidenl and Fellow-citizens: 

For the first time in the history of my brief life I have the pleasure 
of attending an Emancipation Celebration in the good old historic State 
of Virginia. Although born upon her soil, I must say the welcome and 
cordial greeting that you have given us to-day will never be forgotten. 
I speak the sentiment of all these people when I say in answer to 
Pr ofessor Coles, we have rece ived more tha n an old Virginia welcom e, 
wh en I lo ok b ack a few years and see the condition our peop le wer e in 
a nd compare it with the present, it make s me liftniy heart to God, and 
fha_nk /^^^'- nhmf Ti\ir>nin fnr nil we have to-dav. Mr. President, this is 
a great outpouring of the people, aud we will return to our homes with 
a lasting impression of the good people of Culpeper. May you go on in 
your good way to do those things that are up-building to our race. 
May God prosper you in the future as he has in the past, and may Vir- 
ginia, one of the brightest stars in our flag, forever keep the latch string 
on the Outside of her door. 



JOHN n. LANGSTON. 

[ADDRESS BY PUOF. JESSK LaWSON OI' NEW .lEKSEY.l 

Mr. President, Friends and Fellow-citizens: 

We meet to-tlay to do homage to the memory of a departed hero. To 
honor him who for half a century played an important part in our national 
development, and was a conspicuous li^nire among tlie great men proiluced on 
American soil. One who always represented the people, and who devoted his 
great talents and best energies to the uplipting of the down trodden and op- 
pressed of every land. A man who loved his fellow-men, and whom the 
masses loved in return. I refer to John Mercer Langston, late a member of 
Congress from Virginia. 

I congratulate you, Mr. President, upon the inauguration of a movement 
to erect a monument to the memory of such a man as John ]M. Langston, and 
I feel proud of the fact that the young men and women of our race, for whom 
l\Ir. Langston did so much, are taking an earnest part in the work of com- 
mem •rating his memory. It was here, in old \'irginia, "the mother of Presi- 
dents," that Mr. Langston's eyes were fir.st opened to the light, and it was as a 
Representative in Congress from "the Old Dominii n" that he ended his pub- 
lic career. Here then should his ashes be permitted to mingle with mother 
earth, and his bones be consigned to her keeping. 

Thirty-six years ago to-day Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation pre- 
liminary to the emancipation of the slaves that was to follow a hundred days 
thereafter. Mr. Langston was at that time about thirty-three years of age, 
having been born at Louisa Court House, Virginia, December 14th, 1S29, and 
was m the fall vigor of physical and intellectual manhood. Much of his child- 
hood days had been spent in the State of Ohio, and the fijundation for his 
future action had been laid in the education he received at C)berlin College, at 
the feet of Charles G. Finney. 

Here then, at the threshold of freedom, we find John M. Langston step- 
ping upon the stage of action, and one who had been summoned to take com- 
mand of an army gomg into battle. Langston was fitted for the work he was 
called to do, and his long and eventful career demonstrate!! the fact that he 
was the real leader of his people. Others followed public sentiment, and 
catered to it, but John M. Langston would always rai.se his voice in the defense 
of right though he stood alone. It was his sturdy manhood, his self-assertion 
not on account of self, but for the sake of the race he rei>resented, and whose 
chosen advocate he was, that marked him as a civil hero of his thnes, and the 
Jo.shua of his people. Not leaving them in the valley of humiliation and 
despair to forget (io<l and die, but he carried such as would be saved across 
Jordan into a goodly land that flowed with milk and honey. He pointed out 
the true path to glory and immortality for our i>eople, and if we follow in 
his footsteps we need have no concern for our de.stiny in this or any other land. 
A happy optimism pervaded his whole life and made him cheerful under the 
most adverse circumstances and trying ordeals. He had abiding faith in God, 
and believed in the final triumph of right, and his whole life wa.s an inspira- 



tion to aspiring youth. It was his faith in God, and in the Divinity of Jesus 
Christ whom He had sent that illumed Mr. Langston's life and caused him to 
inspire those with whom he came in contact. The infidel can never inspire 
anybody; for he is dead in belief and imparts disease and putrification to 
everything and everybody he touches. Not so with the believer. He has 
hope beyond, and that hope stimulates to action, and urges on to lofty en- 
deavor the man who possesses it. There is scarcely a man of our race to-day 
who will not tell you that he took his inspiration for public life from John M. 
Langston. The influence of Mr. Langston's life was not exerted upon the 
members of his own race alone, but it transcended the limits of race lines and 
made its impress upon the life of the proud Anglo Saxon. His eloquence 
thrilled the nation, from ocean to ocean, and all who came in contact with 
him were moved by the magnetism of his touch. Even Presidents of the 
United States admit that they took their ins])iration for public lite from the 
eloquence of Prof. Langston. Thus it is though dead, in the flesh, Langston 
speaks to the multitudes who move upon the earth. His influence still lives 
and will continue through the ages yet to come. What greater monument 
than that can be erected to any man ? What I say here is peculiarly apropos 
to the life of John M. Laneston and cannot be applied to our so-called great 
men in general. Most of them have their day : 

" They have their day and cease to be.'' 

but not so with the man whose memory you honor to-day. Let the young 
men of the race speak out and declare themselves, and they will tell you that, 
almost to man, they have been urged on to activity and success by the inspir- 
ing words and manly bearing of John M. Langston. It is said that in ancient 
times when Cicero spoke the people would clap their hands and say, "good, 
good, fine, eloquent, magnificent,' ' but when Demosthenes spoke the people 
would say, "come, let us fight PhiUip." 

The oratory of Prof. Langston was such as nev( r dissipated itself in a dis- 
play of pyrotechnics, nor lost its force in nauseating sycophancy, or became 
disgusting by cringing apologetics. Langston was always a man, although he 
knew that it cost something for a Negro to be a man in the United States. | 
(^Xet a colored man make a monkey of himself, and he is considered a clever J 
\ fellow, but the moment he aspires to attain to the full statue of manhood and / 
citizenship, he is considered an impudent Negro who does not know his place. I 
^^^r. Langston found that condition of affairs to exist in quarters where he had—*/ 
no right to expect it, and among men who had made great protestations of 
their love for the colored brother, and what to his proud and manly spirit 
seemed the most humiliating and pitiable aspect of the situation was the fact 
that colored men, regarded as leaders of their people, were too ready and will- 
ing to either pass over in silence altogether, or to apologize for the insults 
offered to the race. And thus it was he often found himself fighting the bat- 
tles of the Negro single handed and alone, as it were, save the masses of the 
people who always stood behind him. Mi-. Langston had great faith in the 
common people, socalled, and he was never afraid to take them into his con- 



fidence. He made his mark as an orator in a great oration delivered on "The 
World's Anti-Slavery Movement." That, ofcour.se, was before the war, but 
his life work lay in the shaping of things brought about by the war between 
the States, and in defending the rights of his people. 

AS I'KKSIDENT OK HOWARD UNIVERSITY. 

The war for the maintenance of the Union wrought a revolution upon the 
American continent, and we were confronted with the work of firmly cement- 
ing, and delicately adjusting a situation that had been drivtn far apart by the 
bellowing of cannons upon a thousand battle-fields of the republic. A new 
element was to be injected into the boily politic. Four millions of slaves had 
become as many miUions of freemen. They were uneducated, as far as the 
letter goes, and had no theoretical knowledge of the science of government. 
They needed a leader and a teacher, and the work of furnishing the one, and 
of producing the other was assigne<l to the Freedmen's Bureau, under the 
kindly leadership of Gen. O. 0- Howard. Then the administration at 
Washington cast about to find a colored man of character and ability for the 
work as assistant to General Howard. All eyes were turned on John M. Lang- 
ston as the man par crcellence, fitted for the position, and he was chosen. 
Under his organizing ability schools sprang into existence throughout the 
Southland, and thousands of children with sooty faces and kinky hair were 
introduced for the first time to the alphabet of the language they spoke, and 
to the a, b, c's of American politics. Such was the condition of affairs when 
the foundation for Howard University, at Washington, wa« laid, and soon 
thereafter Professor Langston was called upon to organize the Uaw Department 
of that university. This work marked the beginning of the new era in the 
Negro's life upon this continent; for it turned his attention to the discovery of 
those laws upon which the government rests — a government in which he had 
just become a part, and for which he was to assume obligations. The war had 
left the State governments at the South in a chaotic con'Htion, with the Negro 
on top. and when the period of reconstruction began he naturally looked to 
his friends from the North to pilot him through the winding paths of state- 
craft, an<l to guide him in the discharge of the obligations antl duties made 
possible by the new situation. Professor Langston maintained that to govern 
well persons shouM be thoronghly traineil in the science of government, and 
he mapped out a course of study at Howard University that would give the new 
citizen a fair knowledge of the workings of the government under which he 
live*!, and of which he was a part. Profes.sor I.angston never believed, and he 
never subscribed to the un-American and disorganizing doctrine that this is a 
white man's government, but he rather held to the view .so clearly and elo- 
quently enunciated by Abraham Lincoln in his declaration that ours is a gov- 
ernment "of the peojile, by the peojde, and for the jteople." Thus believing, 
he turned his attention to the work of preparing men for the discharge of the 
duties incumbent upon them as citizens of the greatest republic upon the face 
of the earth. His fii-st duty was to remove from the Negro, as far as possible, 
the blighting influences of slavery and to make him feel himself a man. To 



9 

instil into him a spirit of self-respect, and to make him feel the grandeur of 
responsibility. At the suggestion of General Howard, Professor Langston was 
made Vice-President of Howard University, and he was also the successor to 
General Howard in the Presidency of that institution. Here he was in his 
element, and his influence upon teachers and pupils were magnetic and pow- 
erful. All imitated his gracefulness of manners, and echoed, as far as possible, 
his eloquence of speech. The young men thought or tried to think as he 
thought, and the young women loved only the men who appeared to some 
extent like Langston. He was a cavaher in manners, and chivalrous to the 
last degree, and as much a crowned prince among his own people while Presi- 
dent of Howard University, as Louis the XIV. was king and king-like while 
sitting upon the throne of ]<>ance. What a perfect pal tern of manliness, 
what a grand ideal of capabilities, and a suggestion of possibilities for a people 
just emerging from slavery were represented in the person of John M. Lang- 
ston, as the chief executive officer of a great institution of learning situated at 
the National Capital. Professor Langston stood upon the principle that equal 
capacity, and Uke ability demanded equal opportunities, and equal recognition 
for black and white, and he demanded the enforcement of that principle ; but 
the friends, who, facing sword and bayonet, shell and battle-axe upon the 
field of glory in the cause of freedom, were not prepared to stand upon any 
such platform, or accord to the newly made American citizen any such consid- 
eration in practical aflfairs. It was all good enough in theory, but in pratrtice 
it would never do. The South said so, and the North acted so, and Professor 
Langston soon became a persona non grata to the friends who had a different 
course of study, and code of conduct mapped out for the education and work 
of the Negro. Many of our leaders never really appreciated the value of the 
principles advocated by Professor Langston, and if they did appreciate such 
principles they had not sufficient manly courage to proclaim their belief. Per- 
haps they did not realize the fact that principles once yielded are seldom ever 
regained, and that nothing can compensate to a people the loss of their man- 
hood ; that courage is an index of greatness, and that 

"They who would be free, themselves must strike the blow," 
Langston comprehended the situation from the beginning, and when cer- 
tain institutions of learning "founded' {"or the education of the Negro, made a 
right-about face, and undertook to instil into colored youth the idea of being 
an inferior people, who are not competent to conduct even their own institu- 
tions of learning, Mr. Langston was not at all surprised, but accepted the con- 
clusion as the logical deduction from a fatal premisis. He was too much of a 
logician not to see that a false premisis must lead to an erroneous conclusion, 
and he was philosopher enough to understand that right actions nmst proceed 
from right principles. His aim was to educate the Negro for the duties of 
life—all the duties of life, and he made an ideal President of Howard Univer- 
sity. I say with hundreds ofi young men and women throughout the length 
and breadth of the United Stales: ''Thank God that 1 attended Howard 
University in the days of John M- Langston." 



IN THK DIPLOMATIC SERVICE. 

Professor Langston represented this Government for eight years as 
Minister Resident and Consul General at Port-Au Prince, Haiti, and dur- 
ing the last three years of his service in that capacity, he was dean of the 
Diplomatic Corps at Port-Au-Prince. The English Minister was there 
the French Minister was there, the German Minister there, and repre- 
sentatives from the nations of the earth were assembled at Port Au- 
Prince, but the ranking man of them all was the representative of the 
I'nited Slates in the person of Mr. Langston. With what becoming 
dignity he bore his honors, moving among the diplomats of the world 
as the peer of any man in character, in learning and scholarly attain- 
ments, in native ability, in the science of government and international 
law, having a consummate knowledge of public affairs, so necessary to a 
successful diplomatic career. It was reserved for John M. Langston to 
demonstrate the fact that we have produced among our own people, 
right here in the United States, men skilled in the art of diplomacy. 
Mr. Langston was the American Representative to a Negro government, 
but he never lost sight of the fact that he represented the American 
people, the whole people without regard to race or color, and he always 
acted on that principle, and the only mistake he made, he did not live 
long enough to become a member of the Peace Commission, now assem- 
bled in Paris. 

THE K.ACE I'OR CONGRESS. 

I come now, fellow citizens, to a chapter in the life of John M. Lang- 
ston that deeply concerns us all as citizens of the United States; for it 
marks an epoch in the political development of this nation. Had not 
that chapter been written as it is written, and read by all men, I am free 
to venture the opinion that you would not be gathered here to day to 
commemorate the memory of a man, illustrious on account of his learn- 
ing and his eloquence, had he failed to perform his duty as a citizen and 
a patriot. It was "a condition, and not a theory that confronted" ^Mr. 
Langston when he stood face to face to the situation in the State of Vir- 
ginia, in 18S.S. He had been a Republican all the days of his life. 
Having taken the stump for Salmon P. Chase, a candidate for Governor 
of Ohio in the year iSs.S. his voice had been heard in every campaign 
from '55 to 'SS. His fame had encircled the globe, and he was regarded 
as a positive factor in American politics. Planting himself upon the 
Constitution, as amended, he thought that there was nc position in the 
Government to which a colored American might not aspire. Acting 
upon that principle, and yielding to the wishes of the electors of the 
Fourth Congressional district of Virginia, Mr. Langston announced 
himself as a candidate for Congress on the Republican ticket. Although 
it was demonstrated almost from the very beginning that Professor Lang- 
ston was the choice of the majority of the voters of the district, still he had 
fearful odds to contend against. He had not only to meet and conquer 



the enemy fightiug imder the Democratic banner, but he had a sharper 
and more subtle foe with whom to try conclusions within his own party. 
The machine was against him. Men who are in politics know what a 
fearful thing it is to have, the party machine against one. The machine 
against which Professor Langston had to contend had plenty of money, 
a very important adjunct to politics, and it was wielded by men of brain, 
courage and consummate cunning. The issue was joined, and Professor 
Langston began the work of canvassing the district for delegates to the 
nominating convention. "Wherever he went large crowds attended his 
meetings, and were swayed by the magic of his eloquence. Men 
shouted for Langston, and women petitioned the Throne of Grace in 
his behalf. Children strewed flowers in his path to make his march tri- 
umphant. The more the people appeared in his favor the greater was 
the opposition of the bosses; for they recognized in Mr. Langston a new 
leader in Virginia politics who was bound to be popular with the masses, 
and who was destined, ere long, to wrest from their hands the sceptre 
of power which they had regarded as their own peculiar preserve. 
Long and patiently did Langston plead for justice and fair play, but he 
pleaded in vain, the machine was obdurate, and turned a deaf ear to 
his pleadings. Finally imitating the action of the tiger, with one leap 
he bounded right into the centre of the ring, bidding defiance to all 
comers. The challenge had been thrown down; it was accepted by Pro- 
fessor Langston, and there was war to the finish. The watchword of the 
machine was: '"The time has not yet come when a Negro should repre- 
sent Virginia in the halls of Congress." The country was right in the 
midst of a great National Campaign, with the issues sharply drawn 
between the opposing parties. Senator Matthew S. Quay, the greatest 
political manager this country has ever produced, was at the head of 
the Republican National Committee. Ex-Congressman James D. Brady 
represented Virginia on the Committee. He was Mr. Langston's friend, 
tried and true, and he stood by him as one gallant leader should stand 
by another. Colonel Brady had represented the district in Congress, 
and he knew the people, and had no desire to stand in the way of a free 
exercise of their will in the selection of a candidate for Congress. He 
made a fair and impartial presentation of the case before the National 
Committee, and Chairman Quay, be it said to his credit, was disposed 
to do the fair thing in the Langston case, but the machine in Virginia 
would listen to no proposition that did not have as its ultimatum the 
withdrawal of Langston from the contest. Mr. Langston was not dis- 
posed to withdraw, and hence the negotiations were at an end. The 
machine had drawn the color-line by declaring that no colored man 
should represent Virginia in Congress, and when Professor Langston 
joined issue with them on that proposition, and was getting the better of 
them before the people, they had the audacity to accuse him of exciting 
race against race by drawing the color-line in politics. The colored ma- 
jority in the district was larger than the combined white voting strength 



of both parties. They wanted a representative man of their own race to 
speak for them in Congress, and they found such a man in the person of 
John M. Langston. Race lines were sharply drawn with, of course, a 
few white men like Colonel Brady and other loyal Republicans on the 
side of Langston, and a few colored hirelings, in and out of the district, 
working for the machine. The act wa'= played with dramatic effect, 
stage settings and all, and when ithe curtains were wrung down on the 
evening of November tjie 2nd, 18S8, Langston had w-on with a clear 
majority over all contestants. But he was not allowed to enjoy the vic- 
tory thus achieved without further struggle. What the machine had 
lost in the open it proposed to accomplish in secret, far in behind closed 
doors. While the people did the voting the machine did the counting, 
adding when it should have subtracted, and subtracting when it should 
have added. The votes failed to show that the machine candidate had 
been running at all, and hence a small plurality was given to the nomi- 
nee of the Democratic party. If Langston was seated at all, it must be 
through contest, in which there is always an element of uncertainty 
with plenty of anxiety. The final outcome of the National Campaign 
restored the Republicans to power in every brancli of the Government. 
The machine expected to control the patronage at Washington, and it 
did not want any Republican members of Congress to help it distribute 
that patronage, especially if the members were not of its own making, 
and ready to do its bidding. The Virginia machine removed to \Vash- 
ington, and put itself at once in touch with the National Administration, 
augmenting its powers to crush the black man. But honor was not 
dead, and that sense of fair play ever present in the bosom of the 
American people made itself manifest in the scenes that followed. 
There were McKinley and Allison to counsel, Grosvenor and Haugon 
to speak, and Reed to direct the move in the interest of justice and fair 
play. 

"A (rood c^use stands and will abide, 
hesjions of angels will tlKht upon its side." 

It was near the closing days of the first session of the Fifty-first 
Congress when the Langston case was called. The Republicans had a 
very small majority in the House of Representatives. Many of the 
members wer absent looking after their fenses, and attending to other 
business interests, and it was very hard to get a quorum of Republicans, 
and the Democrats had resolved that if Mr. Langston was seated at ail 
he must be seated by a quorum of Republican members. Reed was at 
the helm. The Committee reported that Langston had been duly 
elected, and was justly entitled to a seat in the House of Representa- 
tives, then was re-enacted that scene spoken of in the liible, where we 
are told the "Wicked flee when no man pursueth."' For nineteen days 
the Democrats deliberately walked out of the House of Representatives, 
thus breaking the quorum, and ficeing, as it were, before the face of 
the conquering and invincible Langston. The scene attracted the 



13 

attention of the nation, and the interest of the race was centred on the 
seating of the Representative from the Fourth District of Virginia. 
Speaker Reed rallied his forces, and again triumph in the seating of 
John M. Langston. 

The charge has often been made that, politically speaking, the 
Negro has made no progress since the days of reconstruction, but the 
election and seating of John M. Langston was a veritable refutation of 
that charge. It shows that the Negro has organizing ability, and that 
there is race cohesiveness among our people when the necessities of the 
situation demand it. The colored people throughout the United States 
were deeply interested in the seating of Professor Langston, and they 
had spoken in unmistakable language in their respective localities. 
The race issue had been forced upon the voters of the Fourth District, 
and, accepting the challenge, they had gone to work to win. There 
were powerful forces operating to thwart the will of the people and 
prevent the seating of Langston, but those who were for him were 
"mightier than those who were against him." The race had been 
struck in a tender spot, and its pride had been wounded to the core, 
but all was not lost since self-respect remained. Aroused by the burn- 
ing eloquence of Langston, and spurred to action by the scourge of the 
opposition, the colored voters of this country rallied as they had never 
rallied before. It was just the tonic that our people needed to bring 
out their best powers, and it was administered at the right time. "Great 
are the lessons of adversity," and opposition is often necessary to prove 
the metal of a people. 

There were several Republican members of Congress from Virginia 
when the Langston contest was going on, and although they had been 
elected principally by the votes of colored men, they had neither the 
political foresight, nor sense of gratitude for their providence to vote 
for the seating of him, notwithstanding the fact that the Committee on 
Elections, after a full and thorough investigation of the whole matter, 
had reported in his favor. This, I say, was the attitude of the so-called 
Republican delegation in Congress from Virginia, with the single excep- 
tion of the gallant Colonel Bowden from the Secondi District. Bowden 
stood out for Langston, and it was due largely to his attitude on the 
question that Mr. Langston was seated. But Bowden had to pay a 
penalty for his courage and daring independence in defying the ma- 
chine. He broke with the boss and fell outside of the breastworks, 
but the people rallied to his support, and Colonel Bowden is now a pow- 
er in both State and National politics. 

I have given you, Mr. President, as briefly as possible, the prom- 
inent features in the public career of John M. Langston, but were I to 
stop right here I feel that my remarks would fall far short of the pur- 
pose of the occasion which called us together to-day. "When we paaS 
in review the lives of the men who have gone to join the majority, 
analyze their deeds, and compare them with the deeds of other men it 



14 

is for the purpose of pointing out a lesson that will be of service to the 
men now upon the stage of action, and a guide-post to the generations 
yet to follow. What are the lessons that we learn from the life of John 
M. Langston? 

First. To be a great leader of any people a man must have pecu- 
liar fitness for the wurk, and his life must be of such a character as to 
gain and hold the confidence of the masses. 

Second Aggressiveness is an indispensable attribute to true lead- 
ership. Without it no man will have followers who will stick to him 
through thick and thin, and who are willing to sacrifice their lives, if 
need be, in the defence of his cause. 

Third. He must show earnestjess of purpose, and ability to grasp 
the situation, and to turn it to good account. 

Fourth. He must make the people feel that he is in sympathy with 
them, weeping when they weep, and rejoicing when they rejoice. 

Fifth. He must have brains enough to formulate plans, and cour- 
age enough to put them into execution. If there is one thing that the 
American people admire above another in a man it is what the Romans 
called valor, but what we designate as courage ! Real, genuine, manly 
courage ! That is the stamp that marks the hero, and separates the 
real man from the common clay. It was courage that caused Hobson, 
though threatened by death and destruction, amid the bellowing of 
cannons belching forth fire and molten lead, to lead the Merrimac into 
Santiago harbor, and to scuttle her athwart the channel of that narrow 
pass, making impossible the escape of the Spanish fleet, and marking 
Hobson as the real hero of the war ! That was physical courage, but 
it required both physical and moral coinage, and a great deal of both, 
for Professor Langston to undertake to run for Congress in the State of 
Virginia. His campaign was a kind of opening wedge, a forerunner of 
things to come. 

Throughout the Southland to day colored men are running for Con- 
gress, and it will not be long before the same condition will obtain at 
the North. We are beginning to see that where we have Representa- 
tives of our own race in Congress we generally fare better. Take for 
instance the State of North Carolina, where Hon. George H.White rep- 
resents the vSecond district in Congress, and we find that from that same 
district we have a colored man as Recorder of Deeds for the District of 
Columbia; the United States Minister to Liberia is a colored man from 
North Carolina appointed at the request of Congressman White; there 
are colored men as collectors of customs, internal revenue collectors 
and postmasters throughout the State of North Carolina. What have 
you in Virginia? Let him answer who can. but when Langston repre- 
sented Virginia in Congress the colored brother fared much better than 
he does now. 

And now, Mr. President, as the situation of the colored people passes 
in review before my eyes to-day, I discern that llure is something lack- 



IS 

ing, a void that has not been filled up. Ten millions of people are 
standing on the banks of the Rubicon doubting whether to cross over 
or to remain where the are. T he sentiment for _ politii:al pinancipatioa- 
is struggling_for the mastery. __Ajiil)iti oti spurs them on . but__povertv_ 
h crraTTSeni^ bacE^-anxl^ounseT^^giindprn^^ Advice coiTiesTbut it is 
conflicting; and there are doubts and misgivings about every step that 
the Negro takes in this country. Under the inspiring leadership of 
John M. Langston the colored people of Virginia crossed over the Rubi- 
con, and though dead, his voice still urges them onward, and his hand 
beckons them forward to liberty and an enlightened citizenship. Your 
gathering on this occasion is but an answer to a summons from the dead 
to meet and declare yourselves as men proud of your citizenship and 
worthy of the responsibilities it imposes. I pray you take no step back- 
ward. The only command I know is— Forward march! 



Emancipation Oration. 



Lawver KICHARD K. HORNEK, of the ^Varrenton, Va., Bar, was then 
introduced and delivered the following oration : 

Mr. President, and Members of the John M. Langston National Memor- 
ial, Historical and Emancipation Association, of Virginia. Ladies and 
Gentlemen: 

The universe itself gives plitce to the vast changes and conditions con- 
stantly rolling into existence on the wings of time. The country whose civil- 
ization and pristine splendor illuminates the onward march of the centurv's 
progress, must naturally be judged by the brilliancy of the succeeding century. 
Each revolution in the great drama of Nations ushers into existence the great 
questions of Nation and State, from which the intelligence and progiessof 
that century is judged. 

So it is, my dear friends, through the providence of Almighty God, and 
in accordance with the trend of human events, we are permitted here to-day, 
in the historic town of Culpeper, to commemorate the thirty fifth anniversary 
of our Proclamation of Independencp, promulgated to the world by the im- 
mortal Lincoln, January 1st, IStii. This proclamation virtually gave to four 
million Negroes their independence, and with one philanthropic s'roke of the 
pen carried the name of Lincoln thundering down tlie ages ot posterity, as 
one of the greatest benefactors the world has ever known. 

To those who wii-h to know^ the animation and zeal that propels us for- 
ward to this place to-day, we a.sk the question— Can the patriotism and chiv- 
alry of a nation be nmre fully demonstrated than to celebrate its National 
Independence? Liberty, the virgin of our national pride; that great stimulous 
which moves nations to higher motives and nobler deeds; that great boon for 
which our noble heroes poured out their blood in torrents, on the fields of 
Bunker Hill and Lexington; that sacred right for which ancient and modern 



i6 

nations have fought, bled and died, and with their martyred blood ransomed 
this holy privilege we now enjoy. 

Then to-day, as free men, we come to illustrate our appreciation for the 
great Lincoln, and his immortal cause; though the great man has pas«!ed,to 
that wo'"ld beyond the stars, nevertheless his name will add luster to the pages 
of history, so long as tlie deeds of great men and events are read and admired 
by the civiHzed people of the world. 

The Negroes, as we see thtm in history to-day, were undojhtedly a highly 
cultured people at one period of their Listory. It must be admitted that 
E/ypt received her civilation from the colored people; it was from the Ethio- 
pians that the builders of the pyramid*" and obelisks of Egypt learned their 
architectural philosophy, religion and letters. Modern travelers m Africa 
have discovered vast ruins of palaces and cities, whose architecture represents 
a very high lype of civilization. Those same people built great cities and 
palaces; invaded l\gypt and Nubia with their armies many centuries before 
the dawn of the Christian iOra. Taeir institutions and monuments, at their 
earliest discovery, showed signs of decay, thus demonstrating the mighty an- 
tiquity of this race. In the light of true historic facts, we must conclude that 
the future study of their arts and literature wiU undoubtedly develop the fact 
of a great anti(iuity, and will fully convince the most skeptical observer that it 
was the sons of Ham who first lead otf in the great march of civilization. 
What hardships, and what fierce and bloody contiicts these ancient people 
passed through, which have reduced them to their present condition, we do 
not know, but Judging from the ancient history of this people, we must admit 
tliat they will be in the future as they have been in the past — a great and cul- 
tured people, and will ag in overrun the land of Africa, and plant the stand- 
ard of civilization once more in Ethiopia, and the ancient land of the Pharos. 

The first direct importation of negroes to this country from Africa was 
August, lt)19, one year before the landing of the pilgrim fathers on Plymouth 
Rock. The institution of slavery went on about 240 years, without serious 
interruption, but at last the dim star of liberty dawned upon the national hor- 
izon of our great country, at first very small, but gradually growing brighter, 
and brighter, until January 1st, lyiJ.'-J, when it assumed the gigantic i'roj)or- 
tioDS of a national decree, and loosened the shackels of four milliun Ntgroes. 
But let it be said to the glory and honor of the Negro race in America that 
they bore, the yoke of slavery and thaldrom, with that same love and christ- 
ian fortitude, which has ever characterized him as a law abiding and God- 
fearing citizen, through a period of bondage of many centuries, we only have 
evidence of two slight insurrections. This is without parallel in the history 
of slavery. 

The fact is more significant still, when we take into consideration that it 
was this same people who planted civilization in I'^gvpt; that mighty civiliza- 
tion which has reached to the remotest parts of our glorious country; civilized 
and heathen countries of the world, and breathed into man's soul the inspir- 
ation of intelligence and moral progress. That mighty civilization which the 
Negroes of this country are to-day slowly, but gradually, attaining. 




MAGNUS L. ROBINSON, 33°, 
Editor Alexandria, YA. LEAdKr. 



President of the Langston National Monument, Historical and 

Emancipation Association of Virginia (Incorporated). 

Headquarters at Alexandria, Va. 



17 

Of course, we must condemn slavery under all condititons, as moraity 
wrong. There are no mitigating circumstances, however strong the^. jnay 
be, that would warrant the existence of an institution so cruel, at best: Yet 
I believe God used African slavery as an instrument to accomplish a specific 
purpose; and when that object had been accomplished He consigned the in- 
stitution to oblivion. That purpose, 1 believe, wtis none other than to restore 
the Negro to his former greatness, in the intelectual world. Like classic Greece 
and imperial Rome, we reached the zenith of our civilization, and following: 
in the wake of other great nations our downward march commenced. Even- 
tually, it ended in barbarism and ignorance. But God decreed in His Holy 
word that Ethiopia should agam stretch forth her hands and becouie a great 
power; and slavery was the great instrument in the hand of God to play the 
first act in the great drama oi Negro reformation. 

Had it not been for slavery, where would the American Negro be to day? 
Would he not be roaming over the sandy deserts of Africa, preying on the 
vitals of his fellow man? Falling down and worshipping at the feet of the 
heathen's God? Our women dedicating their sucking babes to the rushing 
torrents of the angry Nile? Would we not be gradually driven back by the 
advance guard of civilization, which is triumphantly planting the great stand- 
ards of civilization over the ancient citadels of the once- power; ul Ethiopians. 
But God, in His infinite wisdom, foresaw the trend of humkn progress! 
Ethiopia had now reached the bottom of her mighty decline, and she must 
again ascend on the wings of progress. Her people must become great and 
cultured; her philosophy, architecture, religion and arts must be revived; 
and so we find the negro imported to the shores of America, where they were 
cared for and utilized as slaves. The people amongst whom they lived being 
cultured, it was natural that the negro, through daily contact with these peo- 
ple, daily grew in intelligence. And soon we find the seed of culture taking 
root in the black man's soul; and we find him inventing every means known. 
to man to acquire knowledge, in spite of his surroundings. 

These people destined by God Almighty to be a great race, there has not 
been, nor is there now, a power in the universe that can impede the swelling 
tide of progress. Though a stranger in a foreign land, without friends, and 
without food and raiment, with nothing but the canopy oi the "golden clouds 
of heaven" for his cover, and the cold mothej earth for his bed, the Negro 
believed deep down within his humiliated heart that God in His own time 
would bring him safely through all the miseries and hardships that poverty 
and bondage could indict. The midnight prayers of our dear old sainted 
mothers and fathers broke the somber-silence of the morning's air, as they 
ascended to the throne of God. Tliose prayers did more for the abolition of 
slavery than the combined power and intiuence of the Northern Abolitionist 
and Union Armies. However, it matters not from what source it came, free- 
dom is ours; we have started a second time to plant on the fallen ruins. of a 
once-powerful and cultured people, that glorious star of national progr.ess, 
which, like the star of Bethlehem was seen twinkling o'er the manger of a fair 
len people. Gradually this star, the emblem of Negro progress, is growing 



i8 

brighter and brighter, and the day is not far distant when the pagtS of history 
"will give full credit to Negro courage and genius. 

The Negro has fully contributed to the history of his country from the 
beginning of the Revolutionary War, when the martyred blood of a Xegro was 
the first to cement the corner stone of this great repul)lic, down to the present 
time. Thirty-five years of freedom has wrought wonders for the Negro race. 
From the slave States of the Union has come Negro giants of intellect, whose 
eloquence and learning have more than once been heard and admired in the 
legislative halls of tbe nation. Revels and Bruce of Mississippi have repre- 
sented the State of Mississippi, in part, as United States Senators, with credit 
to therriselves, and honor to their race and nation. 

Hon. P. S. B. Pinchback, as Governor of Louisiana; Douglass, Langston, 
lOUiot and Washington as great orators; Lynch Benjamin, Straken and others, 
as great politicians and Negro lawyers have argued and won distinction at the 
bar. Dr. C. B. Purvis and other Negro doctors have performed great surgical 
operations. Negro authors have written great text- books, adopted and used in 
such great schools as Yale. Negro capitalists figure conspicuously in the syndi- 
cates of the country. Negro importers and merchants hold their ownm the 
great commercial center of the world: Negro artists and musicians success- 
fully play their role incivilization; and thus it is we find the Negro represent- 
ing, with honor and credit, every vocation of life. 

Our vast numbfr of colored teachers and divines are doing a great work 
in educating the colored youth of the country; these teachers, some of whom 
are graduates of some of the best white and colored universities in the land, 
are well equipped for their great work, and are doing much for their race. 

The one-hundred and fifty newspapers owned and controlled by the race 
are doing great work in assimilating race literature, and teaching the great 
principles of race dignity, hohor and enterprise. 

But as glorious as the past history of the race has been, we must not be un- 
mindful of the fact that we have a more glorious history to make. We must 
remember that we are living amongst tlie highest civilized people on the face of 
irod's earth; and our future, as a race, depends solely upon our ability to hold 
our own with this powerful and cultured people. Before we can justly com- 
mand the respect and confidence of these people, we must demonstrate by actual 
facts our general worth and importance. We must show them that we are in- 
tellectually fitted, and financially j)repared, to give value received every time. 
In order to do this we must learn that one dollar represents a hundred cents, 
and that ninety-nine cents does not make a dollar. Take care of the pennies, 
and the dollars will take care of themselves. Acquire property; go in business, 
learn the trade, and master them; whatever you are, let your aim be to be an 
artist in your line; don't bother about the race problem; do your duty as citi- 
zens, and the race problem will solve itself. If you are not qualified to fill a 
position, do not ask for it; we are not ready for social equality, nor do we advo- 
cate it; that must be solved, as well as other great questions, by time and con- 
ditions. For the present, we are not in need of social equality; it would not 
be honorable to buy a man's goods and not pay for them; neither would it 



19 

be wise to invite hospitRlities which we are unable to return. Therefore, 
<ledicate the question ot social equality to oblivion, and there let it remain 
until resurrected by the imperative demands of surrounding conditions. 

WhH we need at the present time is culture, wealth and influence. These 
three potent factors are the great cog-wheels of civilization, and in the hands 
of the Negro they will wield the same powerful influence as they hf,7; in the 
hands of other nations. It matters but little what thecomple.vion of a man's 
skin may be, if he represents sterling manhood. Backed by sufficient wealth 
and character, that min has solved his own individual race problem, and he 
will receive the highest respectin his community. And thus it is, mv friends, 
that each of you must solve your own individual problem. Do not talk about 
how the white people discriminate against you, but arm yourself with the de- 
termination to improve your financial, intellectual and moral status, to such a 
degree of perfection as will compel and demand this respect. You will find 
this the surest road to success. This, and this alone, is the only panacea for 
the Negro's ills. There is no law which can be placed upon the statute books 
of this country to regulate the prejudices of man. If I don't like you, there 
is no law to make me do it. And any attempt at this will result in disaster to 
the race which attempts it. 

Again, we must aot look to politics as a medium through which the bet- 
terment of the race can be obtained. Politico makes a few men, and destroys 
many. No race in the history of nations has ever been able to attribute its 
growth financially and intellectually to politics. The history of politics will 
show that it has done more to destroy nations that it has to build them up. 
Your capacity is the great political factor upon which you must rely for your 
j»alvation as a race; remember the man who earns forty dollars per month 
and spends fifty is ten dollars poorer than he was before he earned the forty; 
but the man who earns ten dollars and spends five, is five dollars better off. 
The man who makes the ten is on the real road to prosperity, whilst the one 
who earns forty is on the road to ruin. These facts are indeed simple, but 
nevertheless they are cardinal, axioms in the economic world, and enter 
deeply into every man's chance for success in life. 

Again, we must not over-estimate our intelligence. We must remem- 
ber that a nation cannot be born in a day, to reach the highest ideal of civili- 
zation; we must undoubtedly pass through the same process of intellectual 
and moral reforms as other nations have; we must undoubtedly take the same 
royal road which has led the Anglo-Saxon to this great heighth of civilization; 
we must follow it faithfully and judiciously, for one missing link in the great 
chain of progress will simply mean one degree lower in the scale of civiliza- 
tion; we must traverse exactly the same ground before we will have the same 
civilization; no short cuts will do; only one way, and that is the right way. 
Then, my friends, prepare yourselves for the great march. Undoubtedly we 
will reach the coveted goal, but not without patience and labor. 

Virginia is proud of her editors from K. Peel Brooks to Magnas L. Rob- 
inson, the p >pular and conservative writer, now the senior editor in service; 
to John Mitci'eil, Jr., the bold and fearless molder of public opinion, the pol- 



ished John H. Sniythe, the brilHant Matt N. Lewis of Norfolk, ^'irginia * 
riaiiet at Kic-hmond, Recorder at Norfolk and The Leader at Alexandria are 
doing Yeoman's service for the race. It is the duty of colored Virginians to 
subscribe and support their state journals. The Negro editors are self sacri- 
ficing lem:lers of the people. Foitune at New York, Chase and Cooper at 
Washington, Henderson at Boston, Adams at Chicago, Scott at New Orleans, 
Dancy at Wihnington, .<uiith at Charlotte, Perry at Philadelphia, Steward at 
Louisville, Franklin at Omaha, and the other brainy editors all over this coun- 
try are making history for the race and are continuing that true leadership 
handed down to them by Douglass, Langston, Bruce. 

True, indeed, we have tried to see the day when the sturdy South and th- 
united North, East and West have unsheathed their swords to protect t' 
honor and dignity of their common country. The gallant ex-Confeder 
Gen. Filzhugh Lee, has donned the Lnion uniform, and stands ready t' 
tect with Ins honor and his blood, his country's honor, and his country 
Side by side we have seen the white and colored soldiers fighting, to r 
one connnon foe; to maintain the dignity, not alone of the wb 
country, but of one common country, one country, one flag and one , 
and may the benediction of heaven rest upon those gallant boys in blue, 
both black and white, who have been and are now exposed to the heated 
eltmt-nts of the torrid zone, defending the dignity of their country, for their 
country's honor. 



Mrs. J. M. Langston, the devoted wife of the late John M. Lang- 
ston, endorses and gives her approval to the Lavgstou Monument, 
Historical and Emancipation Association: 

Washington, D. C, Srp/. /j, /SgS. 
MAGNUS L. RORINSOX, Esq., 

President Langston Jllonumeftt^ Historical and Emancipation Asso- 
ciation of Virginia. 
Dear Sir : 

Your very kind letter was duly received and thoroughly appreciated. 
I did nof answer earlier, because your celebration does not take place 
until the 22nd iust., and I fell that a reply at this time would answer 
ever}' purpose. .Speaking for myself and our children let me state that 
the object of your Association finds one hearts full of deep seated grati- 
tude, and a lull sense of proper appreciation of the aim of my husband's 
kind Virginia friends and acquaintances. 

Speaking for the community at large such a monument as you de- 
scribe should be a lasting inspiration for the present and future gener- 
ations. I"<very young man and woman everywhere can be made better 
by a careful study of the pains-taking and comprehensive labors and 
successes of John TvL Langston. 

As to location for erection of said monument we feel that should be 
left 10 the choice of the Association. 

Now wishing you every success in your laudable ambition, and de- 
sirous of assisting you in any way possible, 

I am gratefully and sincerely yours, . 

Mrs . V ' .ANGSTON. 







Prof. JESSE LAWSON, 

of New Jersey. 

Lawyer, Orator, — a True Race Leader. 




Lawyer RICHARD R. HORNER, 

One of Virginia's ablest Afro- American Leaders. 

Member of the Warrenton, (Va.) Bar. 



Emancipation Orator 

at Culpeper, Va., National Emancipation Celebration, 

September 22, 189S. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



010 337 459 5 



